Citation NR: 9707425
Decision Date: 03/04/97 Archive Date: 03/13/97
DOCKET NO. 95-39 633 ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Portland,
Oregon
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for bilateral pes planus
(flat feet).
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Oregon Department of Veterans'
Affairs
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
S.C. Blume
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had recognized service from July 1960 to December
1963.
This matter came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(Board) on appeal from a
February 1995 determination of the Portland, Oregon Regional
Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which
denied entitlement to service connection for bilateral pes
planus.
CONTENTIONS OF APPELLANT ON APPEAL
The veteran contends that the pes planus he had when he
entered the service was aggravated by his service.
DECISION OF THE BOARD
The Board, in accordance with the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A.
§ 7104 (West 1991 & Supp. 1996), has reviewed and considered
all of the evidence and material of record in the veteran's
claims file. Based on its review of the relevant evidence in
this matter, and for the following reasons and bases, it is
the decision of the Board that
the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim of
service connection for bilateral pes planus.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. The veteran's enlistment examination report reflects a
finding of second degree pes planus.
2. The service medical records show that on one occasion the
veteran requested arch supports. There is no other evidence
in the service medical records of any complaints or treatment
regarding the feet.
3. The veteran's pes planus existed prior to service but
underwent no pathologic advancement during service and was
not subject to superimposed disease or injury during service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Preexisting bilateral pes planus was not aggravated in
service. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1131, 1153, 5107 (West 1991); 38
C.F.R. §§ 3.306(a), 4.57 (1996).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
The veteran contends that he entered the service with
bilateral pes planus and that this was aggravated by his time
in the service.
A pre-existing injury or disease will be considered to have
been aggravated by active service, where there is an increase
in disability during such service, unless there is a specific
finding that the increase in disability is due to the natural
progression of the disease. 38 U.S.C.A. § 1153 (West 1991);
38 C.F.R. § 3.306(a) (1994).
The veteran's entrance and separation examination reports
both note second degree pes planus. A September 1962 medical
reports shows the veteran requesting arch supports. The
separation examination notes the veteran had worn supports
for the past six years. The service medical records are
otherwise silent for any complaints or treatment of pes
planus.
When filing his initial claim for benefits in August 1994,
the veteran did not list any physicians who have treated him
since service for his pes planus. The record contains a
letter, dated in September 1994, asking the veteran for
evidence showing that his pes planus had been treated since
discharge from service. No response to this letter is in the
file. The veteran did indicate on a report of medical
examination in October 1994 that he did receive treatment by
a doctor for his feet from 1976 to 1989.
The veteran received a VA examination of his feet in October
1994. The veteran reported he was wearing arch supports for
his pes planus at the time of entry into the service and that
he wore arch supports most of the time while in the service.
He indicated he was troubled with foot pain while in the
service, especially if he stood or walked for long periods of
time. His current symptoms were essentially the same though
the pain was almost constant, present about 90 percent of the
time. The veteran reported occasional snapping and popping
in his feet and locking in the middle three toes of the right
foot.
The examiner reported that both feet had loss of curvature of
the arch which was accentuated when the veteran was standing.
Circulation and skin color were normal, there were no gross
deformities of the toes and the joints seemed to move well.
The examiner also noted tenderness to palpation over the
metatarsal phalangeal joints number two and three of the
right foot with some crepitus on range of motion. There was
plantar tenderness along the arch of the right foot, no
associated erythema or warmth. Range of motion in the ankles
appeared to be within normal limits. There were no
architectural abnormalities other than the loss of the arch.
On the left foot there was no palpable tenderness present
either dorsally or along the plantar aspect, no erythema and
no tenderness of the joints.
The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is
against the veteran's claim of entitlement to service
connection for bilateral pes planus based on aggravation.
The veteran's service medical records show he entered and was
discharged with from the service with second-degree bilateral
pes planus. The veteran does not contend, and there is no
record to support, that the veteran sought treatment for his
bilateral pes planus other than the request for arch supports
in September 1962. The veteran has contended, and the record
supports, that the veteran had arch supports prior to entry
into service. There is no evidence in the record of an
increase in disability during service. The veteran has
reported that his earliest medical treatment for his pes
planus was in 1976, more than a decade after service. The
veteran did not file his claim until more than 30 years after
service. The preponderance of the evidence being against an
aggravation, the claim must be denied.
ORDER
Service connection for bilateral pes planus is denied.
V. L. JORDAN
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, 741
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to
be assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination. This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.
NOTICE OF APPELLATE RIGHTS: Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7266 (West
1991 & Supp. 1995), a decision of the Board of Veterans'
Appeals granting less than the complete benefit, or benefits,
sought on appeal is appealable to the United States Court of
Veterans Appeals within 120 days from the date of mailing of
notice of the decision, provided that a Notice of
Disagreement concerning an issue which was before the Board
was filed with the agency of original jurisdiction on or
after November 18, 1988. Veterans' Judicial Review Act,
Pub. L. No. 100-687, § 402, 102 Stat. 4105, 4122 (1988). The
date which appears on the face of this decision constitutes
the date of mailing and the copy of this decision which you
have received is your notice of the action taken on your
appeal by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
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